About 40 political signs for next month's Stroudsburg Area School Board primary election have been stolen from Hamilton Township roadsides, police said. The signs are for the five "People's Ticket" candidates looking for votes in the May 17 primary. State police at Swiftwater said the signs disappeared Sunday and Monday. Brian Caufield, a candidate from Delaware Water Gap, said the signs were in legal locations, but they were taken less than a week after they were put up. "It's childish," he said.

The phone rang on a recent Thursday night at the Dickman house on Fifth Street in Coplay. Seated in her recliner, Ann Dickman checked the caller ID and answered. After she'd spoken for a few minutes, Frank Dickman called to his wife from his recliner. Ann muted the receiver with her palm. "Do you still want that 'Joe Bundra for Mayor' sign?" "Yes. " "You've got so many already. " "Damn right. " Five multicolored signs festooned the patch of grass next to the Dickmans' front stoop - each heralding an incumbent running for re-election to Coplay Borough Council.

South Whitehall Township officials flinched this week on their intention to restrict political signs posted by state Senate hopeful Rick Orloski. The township told the Democrat about two weeks ago that he would need a permit to post his campaign signs, he fought back with a federal lawsuit — and within two weeks the township began backpedaling. "Permits on political signs have been suspended at this time," reads a note dated Sept. 28, that permits clerk Diane Folland wrote on the back of her business card.

Q: Why are builders allowed to plaster directional signs to their new developments along the roadway and at the exit ramps on routes 22, 191, and other highways? One day in May, on 22 westbound from 191, I counted 13 exit ramps that had two signs each, one for Heritage and one for Harvest Fields in the Macungie area. These signs are posted right along the highway shoulder and at the end of the ramps, some of which resemble garbage dumps. I am a Realtor, and if we all put our signs where the builders have them, you'd have 100 signs at each ramp.

Candidates are free to post political signs in South Whitehall Township without a permit under a new set of regulations approved by the commissioners Wednesday night. Political signs are referred to as "personal expression signs" under the township's new sign ordinance, a revision sparked last year when a federal lawsuit was filed against the township by state Senate candidate Rick Orloski. In September 2010, the township told the Democrat he would need a permit and have to pay a $5 permit application fee to post his campaign signs.

Every election cycle, the landscape is littered with partisan political signs and posters. The Morning Call April 28 editorial rightly implored candidates and supporters to collect such signs after the election to prevent them from trashing our streets. Unfortunately, the editorial failed to mention that such plastic, cardboard and paper placards should be recycled, rather than being consigned to the trash bin. How many of these signs, posters and handbills are actually printed on recycled materials in the first place?

Palmer Township's Board of Supervisors last night passed an ordinance severely restricting the use of political signs in the township. But the ordinance was immediately criticized by challenger Robert Elliott, who said it will only benefit incumbents, candidates "plugged into" the township's political machinery, and candidates who can afford extensive advertising. The ordinance forbids the placing of political signs on township property. It also bans them from public utility poles, traffic light standards, or other artificial structures, or on any tree for which permission has not been received from the owner.

It's time to identify the top election sign deadbeats for the municipal primary election. These are the candidates who flouted election etiquette and, in some cases, local laws by not removing their signs within a few days after the voting. After the municipal general election four years ago, I went around collecting the old political signs myself and dragging them into the office here. I ended up with 72 signs, some of them in advanced states of decomposition. It made for a dramatic photo, but it also made a heck of a mess, so I'd prefer not to go through that again.

Lower Macungie Township supervisors on Thursday discussed a proposed zoning law regulating political signs. The regulation would mandate that signs on lawns be 10 feet from any public road. Signs also would have to be registered with the township, and a permit would have to be obtained to display a sign. The size of signs would be limited, and they would be allowed to be displayed only 20 days before an election to seven days after it. The township would be able to remove any illegal sign and issue fines.

An Allentown City Council committee has turned back a plan to remove the $5 fee for posting political signs in the city. Councilman Ernest Toth had proposed abolishing the fee, claiming that in the 1989 election only three city candidates bothered to pay it and fill out the necessary paperwork. Joining Toth in paying the fee were Councilwoman Emma Tropiano and Mayor Joseph Daddona. The problem with the requirement, Toth said, was that there wasn't a city agency to enforce the ordinance.

Candidates are free to post political signs in South Whitehall Township without a permit under a new set of regulations approved by the commissioners Wednesday night. Political signs are referred to as "personal expression signs" under the township's new sign ordinance, a revision sparked last year when a federal lawsuit was filed against the township by state Senate candidate Rick Orloski. In September 2010, the township told the Democrat he would need a permit and have to pay a $5 permit application fee to post his campaign signs.

About 40 political signs for next month's Stroudsburg Area School Board primary election have been stolen from Hamilton Township roadsides, police said. The signs are for the five "People's Ticket" candidates looking for votes in the May 17 primary. State police at Swiftwater said the signs disappeared Sunday and Monday. Brian Caufield, a candidate from Delaware Water Gap, said the signs were in legal locations, but they were taken less than a week after they were put up. "It's childish," he said.

South Whitehall Township officials flinched this week on their intention to restrict political signs posted by state Senate hopeful Rick Orloski. The township told the Democrat about two weeks ago that he would need a permit to post his campaign signs, he fought back with a federal lawsuit — and within two weeks the township began backpedaling. "Permits on political signs have been suspended at this time," reads a note dated Sept. 28, that permits clerk Diane Folland wrote on the back of her business card.

A state Senate candidate filed a federal lawsuit Monday against South Whitehall Township, claiming its political sign ordinance is unconstitutional. Allentown attorney Richard Orloski, a Democratic candidate for the 16th District, asked the court for a preliminary injunction against the township to prevent the removal of his signs. The lawsuit was filed after Orloski received a letter from the township on Thursday informing him he needed a permit to place his signs on lawns or anywhere else in the township.

The "Charlie Dent U.S. Congress" sign across from Bethlehem City Hall is notable not for its size, or because it's visible from the workplace of Mayor John Callahan, Dent's congressional foe. It's notable, city zoning officer John Lezoche says, because it's illegal. It's nearly three times the legal limit, Lezoche says, and it's hanging on the Church Street antique shop of Sam Guttman, the city's former planning director. Incumbent Republican Dent is battling Democrat Callahan to represent the Lehigh Valley on Capitol Hill starting in January.

It is very distressing when people of either party remove political lawn signs. This is the antithesis of the meaning of democracy, which fosters free speech and free thought. In our particular circumstance, our Obama/Biden sign was removed on the evening of Oct. 21. People of either party who remove political signs are doing their parties and the democratic process no favor! Bob and Lois Lummer Hanover Township, Northampton County

Recently, Easton's acting mayor and City Council indicated their plans to "broaden the area" for the posting of political signs. The changes would "allow signs on trees, utility poles and rocks or other natural features to be held in place by tacks, nails or glue." It would also allow signs displaying movement by mechanical means and signs to be placed atop roofs. Have they gone mad? All across the country, enlightened government officials and citizens are working hard to restore and secure our quality of life.

I am appalled at the ill-informed and uneducated content of the recent columns by Messieurs Carpenter and White over the Northampton County federal lawsuit on the First Amendment rights of people to express a political opinion by placing a campaign sign on their front lawn. Both writers view campaign signs as litter. Where were these two characters raised? Certainly not in the same America I was raised in. Did they sleep through civics class in high school? We are talking about core American values here, liberty not litter.

Two Allentown residents reported 13 political signs stolen from their yards overnight Thursday. A thief with a interest in the upcoming presidential election took three signs supporting GOP candidate John McCain from Geri Reynolds' home at 2504 W. South St. between 11 p.m. Thursday and 8:30 a.m. Friday. Reporting a similar crime, although not specifying which candidate his signs support, Williams Hall of 544 N. 13th St.

Every election cycle, the landscape is littered with partisan political signs and posters. The Morning Call April 28 editorial rightly implored candidates and supporters to collect such signs after the election to prevent them from trashing our streets. Unfortunately, the editorial failed to mention that such plastic, cardboard and paper placards should be recycled, rather than being consigned to the trash bin. How many of these signs, posters and handbills are actually printed on recycled materials in the first place?